"Renown?"
"The True Spirit Archmages have long wanted to find a way to let the ordinary people of the Mage Plane realize the value they ought to have, instead of being nothing but reserve resources as they are now. They stand too high and see too far, and so they overlooked such a simple method. But now, your research has done it."
Moldo Transdimensional was unexpectedly talkative. Although her voice held no emotion at all, she answered Adam's questions in exhaustive detail.
"Originally, within the contract period, part of the research results you obtained belonged to the tower by right. But in view of the fact that you have helped me twice, and the war trial contract, I can give you a choice. Cooperate with me, or publish independently." Moldo Transdimensional paused, then went on: "Whichever you choose, neither I nor the tower will do anything to you."
Adam chose without a moment's hesitation to cooperate with Mage Moldo Transdimensional.
As things stood, he had no foundation at all in the Mage World. A great achievement without solid power to protect it was like a child parading a rare treasure through the streets—any passerby might turn into a robber, and then not only would the treasure be lost, his life might be casually erased along with it.
And although Adam thought well of his own research, whether it could truly bring great profit in this world was far from certain.
Moldo Transdimensional nodded. "A wise choice. It seems you have wisdom, and did not let the profit in front of your eyes blind you. The reason the Mage Plane can dominate spacetime rests, in the end, on the power of Mages. So results aimed at ordinary people are far greater in symbolic meaning than in practical meaning. In the endless void there are countless worlds; enslave, shatter or sacrifice one whole plane and you gain resources beyond anything you can imagine now. If one day you become Transdimensional, you will find that everything you value today will seem trivial."
Adam understood this. He was still weak, but in the length of his vision he was second to none. Ever since he had learned that Mages could travel through spacetime, he had understood that fixating on the energy contained in a single plane was meaningless. In this world, where knowledge and power could be bluntly set equal to each other, every world drifting in the void stood for an inexhaustible, unending supply of resources.
As the conversation went on, Adam gradually began to feel unwell. The complex information pouring off Moldo Transdimensional made everything about him drift toward her beyond his control.
The Mage had plainly noticed. She had already fixed this space in place and peeled it away from the real world, lessening its effect on lesser life forms by sealing herself away—and still she could not block this assimilation. Moldo Transdimensional stopped speaking and bit into her big apple. With a crunch, color returned to the world, and after a brief spell of dizziness Adam stood once more in reality.
Moldo Transdimensional was nowhere in sight. Mage Moder and his magic dissolved into mist after Adam's first breath, every trace of their existence thoroughly erased.
Then Mage Victor appeared before Adam once again. He studied Adam with interest and asked, "How did you work out what I meant?"
Adam thought about it and answered briefly: "Intuition."
It truly was intuition. These past days Adam had kept a thread running, again and again analyzing the scene at the signing of the contract and Headmaster Victor's final look, and he had realized the whole contract was riddled with loopholes. The headmaster's wisdom would never have missed them, so the only explanation was that the tower had done it deliberately.
Headmaster Victor brought out a new contract and placed it before Adam. "The tower had no choice either. We think highly of your project, but Kino's strength in alchemy is not enough to be of help. Fortunately that idiot Moder delivered himself to our door. All this time the Tower Master and I have been watching over you, making sure your life was never in danger."
As he spoke, Headmaster Victor reached out and drew a line through the void. A dimensional rift unfolded before Adam, and he pulled every item inside it out. "These Mages who carry on inheritances from ancient times have a habit: they carry everything of value on their persons. Knowledge, energy, equipment—all of it."
He sorted the items as he spoke, sliding the ether crystals and all the equipment straight over to Adam. He copied the knowledge and took the originals away, then tossed the copies to Adam as well.
"Worth something, at least. With this knowledge Kino should be able to advance to second rank," Headmaster Victor said with satisfaction.
Adam watched this highway robbery with some discomfort. "He died here. Won't that be a problem?"
Headmaster Victor gave a soft laugh. "Of course not. An outside Mage striking at an apprentice within the tower's bounds is already a declaration of war. And he was a Magefoe, wasn't he?"
Adam was speechless, but on the whole this was a fine thing for him. He had no intention of going deep into alchemy, but an extra layer of foundation was something no one would refuse. His research into magnetic fields and electromagnetic force would inevitably overlap with alchemy, and in the future this equipment and knowledge would be of great use.
Adam signed his name on the new contract. Its subject was the division of profits from the application of electrical energy. The tower was generous: it bore all research costs and all the work of promotion, and took only thirty percent of the profits.
Adam knew that from this point on, funding would most likely never trouble him again.
"Did the Tower Master descend here on my account?" Adam asked suddenly. The thought of it left even him, composed as he was, feeling flattered and taken aback by the honor.
Headmaster Victor put the contract away with satisfaction, and at the question he couldn't help laughing. "Of course not—though it does have to do with you. The Tower Master has already locked onto the coordinates at the other end of the crystal skeleton. The planar campaign is about to begin, and if all goes well this time, the tower's strength will take an enormous leap forward. A share of the credit for that belongs to you."
A planar campaign. Adam was captivated. How do Mages transcend dimensions and enter another world?
"One more thing," Mage Victor said before he left. "After we depart, a delegation from Monte Carlo Academy will arrive at the tower. I hear they have a few geniuses who are certain to become war Mages. Don't embarrass the Tower Master when the time comes."
Adam blinked, slightly thrown. Monte Carlo was a distant name, one he had heard back on the deserted island. And besides—"Didn't the tower just finish a war with Monte Carlo? How do they dare send apprentices here to exchange?"
Headmaster Victor harrumphed a few times. "Under the Fifth Elemental Tower's mediation, the war is over. During peacetime, tower Mages are not permitted to attack another tower's apprentices at will—but Mage apprentices carry no such restriction. Plainly, they don't want to see Moldo doing well..."